Cymbalta 60 mg?

[Gil Denis]

Hello.
Does anyone have any experience with Cymbalta for nerve pain?

Thanks
Gil

[ans]

Works for me! Are you starting off at a lower dose and slowly increasing? Beware of sexual side effects e.g. preferring to eat a sandwich instead of fooling around. (For me if > 20 mg/day).

Also, it's good for depression *and* anxiety.

Good luck and be aware of its other side effects/warnings.

Mom

[Gil Denis]

Hi.
Thanks for the reply. They started me with 60 mg for 10 days. I am worried what it will do to my liver? I am also on Liptor 10 mg also affects the liver!

Thank You
Gil

[martyusa]

Originally Posted by Gil Denis

Hi.
Thanks for the reply. They started me with 60 mg for 10 days. I am worried what it will do to my liver? I am also on Liptor 10 mg also affects the liver!

Thank You
Gil

Drink a lot of water and some LIV-52 wouldn't hurt either. It's good stuff, dropped my enzymes over 30 points after 6 months!!

Intended for research only:

Liv.52 - Herbal Liver Support

[Gil Denis]

Hey
I started taking cymbalta 60 mg seem to sleep o.k. some side affects, no pain relief yet.
Has anyone used Lyrica?
I know this has some great side effects, just curious to see if this would be better?

Thanks
Gil

[dshobbies]

I found Lyrica equal to Neurontin as far as nerve pain managment but both took away my desire to do just about anything. Concentration was difficult. They also negatively affected my eyesight. After about 2 years post op, my pain was managable enough and I gave them both up. My choice, not necessarily for everyone but if my pain hadn't lessoned, I would have stuck with it.

Twiddling your diddlies is better than writhing in pain.

I wish you the best, Dale... Happy holidays

[mmglobal]

I got an amazing email yesterday. I have an overseas client that I've been working with for almost 2 years. He was more severely disabled than anyone I've ever worked with. He had a long litany of surgeries that includes 4 fusion and 1 ADR surgeries. Almost 100% bedridden, the most basic functioning was a huge struggle. This has gone on for years.

As a last ditch effort before undergoing C2-S1 fusion, he went into a new type of pain management program that is designed for patients with long standing chronic pain, or 'memory pain'. The theory is that years of chronic pain develops into a pain disorder and that the inability to disconnect the patient from his 'memory pain' leaves him with the pain disorder, regardless of the status of the pain generators. The patient underwent several weeks of inpatient treatment that starts with a week of a cocktail that includes very high dose opiates and high dose AD's (Cymbalta). After a week of disconnecting you from your 'memory pain', the next few weeks include ramping down on the medications and ramping up on activities and PT.

After 3 weeks he was released from the hospital, mostly pain free. I spoke to him today... now 3 months out. Before therapy, he was in bed 22 hours a day. Now he's riding a bike 10km/day and walking more than an hour day and is pain free and functioning normally. He's still taking low dose meds and will be tapering off of them over the weeks/months to come.

This case has nothing to do with the question at hand except for the coincidence that Cymbalta is one of the drugs of choice at this clinic for dealing with this type of pain disorder. It's an AD that has been found to be VERY helpful for chronic pain as well as depression that is so common in chronic pain patients. There are so many things that we don't understand about the way some drugs work, but off-label use for Neurontin was very important for me in dealing with severe nerve pain. AD's were also very important to me in helping me to cope with years of chronic pain. Side-effects and benefits of these drugs are different for everyone and in many cases, there is experimentation to find the right combination via a 'hit and miss' strategy.

It sucks needing meds... but when we get to a point where our lives are dominated by our spine and chronic pain problems, these meds can be a pathway to a more functional life for many of us.

All the best,

Mark

[Gil Denis]

Hi Mark
The Cymbalta is still not working but I am sleeping better and not so down in the dumps.
Talk soon

Thanks

Gil

[lmkg]

I used Cymbalta. My pain was almost completely eliminated and I was way less depressed. One severe side effect for me though. About 12 hours after taking I have cold sweats, dry heaving and other horrible symptoms for about 2 hours. Then they go away.

I unfortunately cannot take Cymbalta. My doctor suggested that I start at lower doses but it has been my experience that when I have that violent a reaction to anything no smaller dose build up will ever work. I have a severe lamb and goat allergy that reacts the same way. It doesn't matter weather I have one bite or a whole bunch I still get the same reaction.

I wonder what the pharmacology of Cymbalta is?

Good luck to anyone who can use it and I will look into that whole thing about the body being used to being in pain but not until the failed fusion in my neck has been repaired.

My lower back fusion "repair" is going well so far. Since removing the titanium rods and screws I have no pain at L4-5 levels. But much to my disappointment while he was in there he decided that he had to fuse L5-S1 with PEET still using titanium screws though. I wish he had awakened me and given me the choice. It was a 4 hour procedure and I spent 10 days in the hospital because of complications due to Chronic Myolitic Leukemia which the cure "Gleevec" caused my bone marrow to be lazy and not produce any blood cells. I required 2 transfusions and still may need another after going back on my full dose to keep me in cytogenic and hemotologic remission.

[vickyjoseph]

I take 20 mg Cymbalta alternate days (sometimes every day) and this has made quite a difference to my pain levels. Some sexual dysfunction side effects but not too bad - and worth it for me! I was prescribed it as an AD and only discovered by chance that it helped with the pain.

Vicky
ADR L5-S1 2005 Zeegers